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A wee Sunday snippet!
Pull You In (~450 words, Steve/Danny) (also on AOOO)
Danny does it all the time, reaches out and touches Steve-snags his shirt or wraps a hand around his arm, pulls him close to calm him down, to slow him down, to force him to stop and wait and listen to what Danny has to say. And Danny can admit that he likes it, likes that he knows, now, how to rein Steve in, how to pitch his voice low and reasonable, sympathetic and sure, how to let him know Danny has his back and isn't going to let him go off the rails.
This time, when Danny turns to him and grabs his sleeve, Steve startles, looks, for a second, like he'd take flight if he could (it makes Danny think of the little gray birds that roost in the trees outside his apartment at night, that take off in a flurry of wings and panic every morning when he starts up the Camaro), or like he's tensing to fight back. And then just like that, Steve settles again, stills like he always does because it's Danny, even though they're not in the middle of a case or a crisis-no one's missing or dying or escaping or about to blow anything up.
They're in their usual spot at the edge of Steve's beach, in the old chairs that shouldn't be as comfortable as they are, beers sweating into the sand and everything quiet, and Danny has Steve's t-shirt sleeve pinched between his finger and his goofy thumb.
Steve looks relaxed, almost sleepy, but Danny can see how bright and sharp his gaze is, and it makes Danny's mouth go dry, makes him have to fight the urge to pull his hand away. Steve's shirt is worn and soft when Danny rubs his thumb against it, and his skin is warm where Danny's knuckle is pressed into it, and now that Danny has all of the weight and focus of Steve's attention, what's he supposed to do with it?
So he reaches out and touches Steve all the time, and maybe it always meant more than he thought it did, maybe it's been for him as much as for Steve, and maybe he does know what he wants-what he's wanted for a while now, if he lets himself acknowledge it-because if there's anything Danny knows, it's how to put facts together. Steve's looking at him like he's figured Danny out, too, but he's still waiting to see what Danny's going to do. So he tugs, just a little, and Steve comes right away, no hesitation at all, just leans right in toward Danny like it's easy, and okay, all right, Danny sees how it is, and he's really, really going to enjoy kissing the grin right off of Steve's face.
Pull You In (~450 words, Steve/Danny) (also on AOOO)
Danny does it all the time, reaches out and touches Steve-snags his shirt or wraps a hand around his arm, pulls him close to calm him down, to slow him down, to force him to stop and wait and listen to what Danny has to say. And Danny can admit that he likes it, likes that he knows, now, how to rein Steve in, how to pitch his voice low and reasonable, sympathetic and sure, how to let him know Danny has his back and isn't going to let him go off the rails.
This time, when Danny turns to him and grabs his sleeve, Steve startles, looks, for a second, like he'd take flight if he could (it makes Danny think of the little gray birds that roost in the trees outside his apartment at night, that take off in a flurry of wings and panic every morning when he starts up the Camaro), or like he's tensing to fight back. And then just like that, Steve settles again, stills like he always does because it's Danny, even though they're not in the middle of a case or a crisis-no one's missing or dying or escaping or about to blow anything up.
They're in their usual spot at the edge of Steve's beach, in the old chairs that shouldn't be as comfortable as they are, beers sweating into the sand and everything quiet, and Danny has Steve's t-shirt sleeve pinched between his finger and his goofy thumb.
Steve looks relaxed, almost sleepy, but Danny can see how bright and sharp his gaze is, and it makes Danny's mouth go dry, makes him have to fight the urge to pull his hand away. Steve's shirt is worn and soft when Danny rubs his thumb against it, and his skin is warm where Danny's knuckle is pressed into it, and now that Danny has all of the weight and focus of Steve's attention, what's he supposed to do with it?
So he reaches out and touches Steve all the time, and maybe it always meant more than he thought it did, maybe it's been for him as much as for Steve, and maybe he does know what he wants-what he's wanted for a while now, if he lets himself acknowledge it-because if there's anything Danny knows, it's how to put facts together. Steve's looking at him like he's figured Danny out, too, but he's still waiting to see what Danny's going to do. So he tugs, just a little, and Steve comes right away, no hesitation at all, just leans right in toward Danny like it's easy, and okay, all right, Danny sees how it is, and he's really, really going to enjoy kissing the grin right off of Steve's face.